Flourish Ventures on Repeat Founders, Emerging Markets, and When Not to Hop on the AI Bandwagon
Mary Ann Azevedo
August 7, 2024
26 minutes
In today’s episode of Equity Podcast, Mary Ann Azevedo talks to Flourish Ventures co-founders Tilman Ehrbeck, Emmalyn Shaw, and Arjuna Costa about a variety of topics, including how their investment themes have evolved in the past five years and what trends they’re most excited about.
The Evolution of Investment Themes
Flourish Ventures was founded in 2019 by the trio, who now manage $850 million in assets. The firm invests globally, backing fintech startups in the US, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Notable investments include digital bank Chime, Brazilian neobank Neon (last priced at $1.6 billion), embedded finance startup Unit, and African payments infrastructure company Flutterwave.
Repeat Founders
As investors in emerging markets, the firm has noticed an interesting phenomenon: repeat founders. "One thing we’re seeing that’s really heartening is we’re backing entrepreneurs for the second time within our own portfolio," Costa said. "That maturity of founders and the level of thought diligence they bring to the second-time-around journey is really impressive to see."
"We’ve expected that in Silicon Valley and New York for a long time, but to start to see that happen in markets like Indonesia, India, Brazil, and Mexico is very heartening," Costa added.
Approaching AI with Caution
The team at Flourish Ventures is not jumping on the AI bandwagon. They are approaching the space thoughtfully. "I would be surprised if we would bet and pick and seek a company that’s specifically AI fintech on its own accord as a standalone opportunity," Shaw said. "It would have to be something they’d embed in as a core part of their offering to help streamline certain processes."
"The more it’s relying on AI, the more you’d have to ask yourself, what is your defensibility then?" Shaw added.
M&A Activity
Shaw acknowledged that M&A activity has been picking up. "The expectation is that as this activity continues, we’re going to start to see a lot more M&A activity in conjunction with what we hope to be an IPO window opening for fintech as well," she said.
Listen to the Full Podcast for More Valuable Insights
For more valuable insights from the co-founders of Flourish Ventures, listen to the full podcast episode. The Equity Podcast is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, and all the casts.
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You can also follow Equity on X and Threads at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes over at Simplecast.
About Mary Ann Azevedo
Mary Ann Azevedo is a senior reporter at TechCrunch, covering fintech. She has more than 20 years of business reporting and editing experience for publications such as FinLedger, Crunchbase News, Crain, Forbes, and Silicon Valley Business Journal. Prior to joining TechCrunch in 2021, she earned numerous awards, including the New York Times Chairman’s Award and others for breaking news coverage. She holds a Master’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas in Austin, where she currently lives.
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